The head of the United Nations health agency arrived in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ituri province on Saturday to appeal for intensified community engagement in response to a severe outbreak of a rare Ebola strain.
The visit occurs as the virus spreads faster than the response can keep pace, despite better‑organised health facilities and new aid arriving.
The World Health Organisation’s director‑general is expected to tour a treatment centre and meet local authorities, health workers and affected families in Bunia, the provincial capital.
“The most effective way to address this is to provide comprehensive support to contain the disease at its epicentre and to continue delivering all necessary assistance,” Tedros told reporters. He added that while the international community is assisting the DRC government, “community ownership is essential. We are here to discuss with the community, assess how the response is unfolding and identify any challenges to overcome,” he said.
Scale of the outbreak
The highly contagious haemorrhagic fever has now spread to three eastern DRC provinces and to neighbouring Uganda. The true extent of the outbreak is likely broader, as the disease is believed to have been circulating before it was officially detected. The vast, unstable central African nation lacks sufficient laboratory capacity to confirm all cases.
Recent data underscore the rising toll, with at least 1,077 suspected cases — including 246 deaths — reported by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. The Ugandan Ministry of Health confirmed nine infections and one fatality on Friday.
WHO reported that a patient recovered on Wednesday, was discharged after two consecutive negative tests, and returned to the community. WHO spokesperson Anais Legand told reporters in Geneva that this marked the first confirmed recovery among Ebola cases in the current outbreak.
Transmission occurs through close contact and bodily fluids, and Ebola has claimed more than 15,000 lives across Africa over the past 50 years. The deadliest DRC outbreak, between 2018 and 2020, resulted in nearly 2,300 deaths out of 3,500 recorded cases.
Conflict and border closures
State services are largely absent in Ituri province, where insecurity driven by Islamic State‑affiliated ADF militias and various ethnic militias severely restricts access and has led to frequent civilian casualties.
Neighbouring North and South Kivu provinces have also reported Ebola cases and have been plagued by almost continuous violence for three decades. Large areas are under the control of the Rwanda‑backed M23 armed group, which has engaged government forces and reported two cases in key cities such as Goma and Bukavu.
Millions of people have fled the fighting and now live in displacement camps with inadequate hygiene. Nearly one million displaced individuals are in Ituri province, raising serious concerns that an epidemic could spread rapidly through densely populated camps.
“If Ebola comes, we’ll be wiped out — people are packed like sardines in these camps,” Dorcas Mapenzi warned at the Kingonze camp on the outskirts of Bunia.
In response, Uganda and Rwanda have closed their borders, and Uganda has instituted a 21‑day quarantine for anyone arriving from the DRC. Moreover, the United States recently prohibited entry of non‑U.S. passport holders who have recently travelled to Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan.
